CLEARFIELD – Clearfield County District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr. has announced the capture of a wanted fugitive.
Shaw identified the fugitive as James Edward O’Dell, 47, of Turnpike Avenue, Clearfield. O’Dell was added to the Clearfield County Fugitive of the Week list earlier this week.
On June 10, 2013, Officer Jon Walker of the Lawrence Township Police Department filed a criminal complaint against O’Dell. He charged O’Dell with computer trespass; theft by deception; retail theft; access device fraud; tampering with records or identification; and theft by unlawful taking.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, on May 23, 2013, Lawrence Township police were dispatched to a Clearfield business for a reported theft. Upon investigation it was found that O’Dell, an employee of the business, had been fraudulently making false refunds and crediting his bank account with the money from those returns.
It was determined that O’Dell unlawfully obtained approximately $1,380.12 from the false refunds. Additionally, it was found that O’Dell had stolen merchandise and services from the store, which were valued at approximately $463.49.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for July 17, 2013, at which time all charges were held for court. On Jan. 30, O’Dell failed to appear for a pre-trial conference, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Shaw stated that on Tuesday, O’Dell voluntarily surrendered himself to deputies from the Clearfield County Sheriff’s Office. Shaw thanked the Clearfield County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance with this case
Anyone with knowledge of a fugitive’s location is asked to call Clearfield County Crime Stoppers at 800-376-4700. All calls to Crime Stoppers are confidential.
Anonymous tips can also be submitted by visiting the Clearfield County District Attorney Web site at “www.ClearfieldDA.org” and selecting “Report A Crime.”